What Final Memo?

Review the Final Memo.

To complete your final proposal, develop the following:

1.   A plan to make reductions of at least 13% in the overall budget.

2.   Elimination of deficit spending in 3 years (given certain revenue projections provided).

3.   An analysis of current trends for each type of revenue source.

4.   Propose solutions that balance new revenue needs to include the impact of the financial crisis on the residential and political sectors.

Parts I and II of the assignment should be included in your final proposal. Be sure to adjust these parts of the assignment based upon feedback provided from the instructor, any new knowledge acquired since the first drafting, and the overall flow of your final proposal.

Your final proposal should include the following sections:

1.   Summary of situation and reason for proposal (Final Project Part I) (100-150 words).

2.   An analysis of how the town budget will be impacted by the financial crisis (Final Project Part II) (500-750 words).

3.   Recommendations to minimize the impact of the financial crisis on critical town services (Final Project Part II) (500-750 words).

4.   Budgeting Plans (Final Project Proposal) (250-500 words).

Instructors will be using a rubric to grade this assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA

Style Guide. You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. 

MEMO 1

 INTERDEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM 

September 14, 2010 

TO: Budget and Finance Teams 

FROM: Jack Sprague, Town Manager 

RE: Town Financial Crisis 

As you all are aware, Hadleyville is in a deep financial crisis. As your Budget Briefing Books will show, the town has experienced declining revenues ever since the Wilson Performance Automobile Plant shut down 3 years ago. Beyond that, the national financial crisis has hit the town hard, and has seen even more of the fragile industry disappear. Our residents have increasingly had a hard time finding work, and those who have not outright left are anchored to mortgages they cannot afford and family obligations they cannot meet. 

I have divided the department into teams, and over the course of the next 8 weeks, each team is required to develop a proposal outlining a 3- to 5-year plan for recovery. This will not be easy, and I suspect as you delve into individual department budgets, you will encounter troubling decisions that must be made. Ultimately, the political leadership of the town will have to make those decisions, but we cannot do so without your help. 

Each team will have access to information on revenues and current expenditures via the Budget Briefing Books and will need to determine which two of the town’s most troubling departments need immediate revisions in their operating budgets. We ask that you apply the knowledge you’ve gained about operating budgets and your own personal experiences to analyze the best way to balance the need for critical town services with the town’s budgeting needs. 

Some key points: Be sure to analyze the town’s direct and entitlement obligations in the adopted budget; examine at least two town departments and make recommendations for reduced spending; present an overall proposal to the town council of your findings and recommendations for reducing the town budget by at least 13% overall immediately; and look for ways to eliminate deficit spending in 3 years. You will have a lot of options at your disposal. Be sure to weigh the positives and negatives of each. 

MEMO 2

 October 5, 2010 

TO: Budget and Finance Teams 

FROM: Jack Sprague, Town Manager 

RE: Town Financial Crisis Update 

The Water and Sewage Department and the Economic Security Department, who handle jobless benefits, are in desperate need of examination and adjustment. We have spent some considerable time with both of these departments, and would really like your analysis to help make some difficult decisions. 

The Water and Sewage Department is somewhat unique in that it is supported entirely by user fees. We have provided you with some analysis and projections of user fee revenue for both drinking water production and water reclamation and treatment. We’ve also provided some projected expenditures for the next 3 years, including a significant capital outlay project the town council has approved – the construction of the Hadleyville Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir. This project is politically very sensitive, and I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think taking it off the table is an option. However, what you may explore is a different timeline or different priorities in budgeting that can help make the project more successful given the budget constraints. We know that user fees will need increasing, but as you can imagine that isn’t the most popular route we can take. We’d like to hear your recommendations for reigning in operating costs as much as possible. 

The Economic Security Department handles quite a few federal programs for the town in addition to locally-funded programs. We have some initial projects for federal resources that we see increasing over time and perhaps some opportunities for new federal revenue in the very near future. Specifically, we’d like you to see if operating costs can be brought in line with revenues while maintaining a high level of service and providing as much service as possible through these additional federal resources. Be as specific as possible in your recommendations. Your Budget Briefing Book will have more detail on the current state of both of these department’s operating budgets and the key decision points that the council will need from your recommendations. As you develop the specific recommendations for these two departments, my hope is that it will help inform your larger decisions surrounding the town’s overall budget.